Jay was a new member of the Sai center who approached me one day for advice on his spiritual practice. He had heard about Swami through some colleagues at work and, like many who have recently come to Swami, had his share of questions. Nevertheless, he had turned his life around, went to the center's service activities, took part in devotional singing and study circles, read Swami's Discourses, and tried to repeat the Divine name whenever he could remember to. "But even after doing all these things," he said to me one day, "I'm still not sure that I'm growing spiritually."

We talked some more, and Jay noted that he often felt tired, even though he had no trouble getting enough sleep each day. When asked about how he spent his time during the day, he said that he usually started by reading the newspaper while at his home, then surfing the internet at work for an hour or so each day. His work as a computer programmer gave him ready access to the internet and, although he was careful about what he watched, he probably spent more time surfing than he needed to. He took part in the usual office gossip, and when he came home would relax by watching TV or reading a magazine.

I counseled Jay about what Swami might think about these activities. "Without sense control," Swami says, "your sadhana, or spiritual practice, is like keeping water in a leaky pot. It is ineffective…. Many clamor for the experience of spiritual bliss, but few earn it because they find themselves too weak to reject the clamor of the senses!" Swami likens giving our senses free reign to driving a car without breaks - disaster is certain. He says, "The senses should not be allowed to override man. They must be instruments within the control of man. They are mere servants, orderlies, helpers."

Like many people today, Jay was ruled by his senses, often to the detriment of his spiritual progress. What many don't realize, however, is that their lack of sense control also damages their health. Swami says that our senses are like taps, and that when they are opened (i.e., indulged in), our energy pours out of them. The result, He says, are feelings of fatigue, dullness, or even disease. Indeed, conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, He says, are little more than the result of uncontrolled senses. "We should understand under what conditions… We should use the senses and then put them under control. Our inner strength will become less and less on account of unnecessary excitement or unnecessary sorrow. The body will become ill by mental agitations and distractions. Man ages very quickly through excitement and sorrow. The reason for not preserving this sacred instrument (the body) is lack of control over the senses."

Once, when Swami was exercising His elephant Sai Geeta by rolling a tire for her to catch, some nearby students marveled at His ability to spin the tire so far and fast. "Swami, that is because of your Divine power," they told Him. But when Swami flexed His arm and asked them to feel His biceps, the muscle was as hard as iron. Swami says that the reason for his good health, boundless energy, sharp hearing, and superb eyesight is because He keeps His senses under control - not because of any Divine power. Today's youth, unfortunately, squander their health by uncontrolled indulgence in their senses. The eyes, for example, have hundreds of thousands of nerves in them that give us vision. But when we look at something bad or unwholesome, Swami says, tens of thousands of nerves are injured.

How then, to control the senses? In today's world, regardless of where we live, we are daily assaulted with images urging us to indulge our senses, as if they were the true source of peace and happiness. TV, videos, movies, newspapers, magazines, debilitating novels, talk radio, advertisements, delicious foods, sensuous perfumes and scents, enticing gossip, the internet and internet related chats - all of these enslave and weaken us through the senses. Restricting our exposure to all of these; keeping our eyes on the ground before us while walking or on the road while driving; walking away when the conversation turns to gossip or scandal; keeping good company; practicing ceiling on desires; and offering whatever we see or hear to Swami - all of these are ways to control our senses, so that they do not control us.

When Jay started this process in his own life, he found that not only did his old tiredness lift away, he grew much closer to Swami in the process. As his devotion and joy grew, he no longer missed the things of the senses that he had given up. "You know what Swami says about your mark as a devotee?" he asked me one day. He says, "Your devotion is best measured by your degree of sense control."